Engaging Users and Mobilizing Advocacy with Twilio Short Codes

It’s been a little over a year since we launched our Twilio Short Code product, and in that time we’ve seen amazing applications built on top of the short code platform. Now with hundreds of registered short codes in our inventory, we’re armed to enable the developers building next generation communications.

Developers are building messaging and notifications products in a way they’ve never done it before. Short codes aren’t just for American Idol anymore. From startups, to enterprises, from non-profits to government, these organizations are changing the way we interact with our devices.

Mobilize Your Community:Mobile Commons offers companies, non-profits, and government agencies simple tools to reach people on the device they use most – their mobile phones. They are experts in running text-messaging-based campaigns and love the engagement they see with Twilio Short Codes. Rodger Wells, head of sales at Mobile Commons loves how the brevity of an SMS message stokes engagement with customers. “Brevity is not a character defect,” says Wells. “A 160 character limitation can be a real blessing—it prevents rambling and forces you to get to the point.”

Fight Crime: The Philadelphia Police Department uses Twilio to enable residents to send crime tips via SMS. Since its launch in April, the people of Philadelphia have made texting with Twilio Short Codes the fastest growing avenue for reporting crime tips.

Reach Your Customers:Walmart offers a unique “Value of the day” to all of its customers. These are special discounts that Walmart shoppers can redeem in a variety of ways, such as Twittter, and now through a simple text message powered by a Twilio Short Code.

Provide the Best User Experience:Path decided to use Twilio Short Code to give prospects a one-way ticket to an awesome experience. When people click the “get the app” button on the Path website, they’re invited to type in their phone number. They instantly receive an SMS with a download link. One tap, and they’re in.

Twilio is known as a tool for startups and entrepreneurs, but what might surprise you is what your company’s reach can be with a simple voice and messaging API. From WalMart staying engaged with customers to the City of Philadelphia keeping citizens safe, developers using short codes with the Twilio API are leading the innovation of how we communicate with our mobile devices.

Patrick Malatack is a Product Manager at Twilio responsible for the messaging product line. Patrick is as passionate about elegant UI design as he is about simple, easy to use, API’s. Patrick also loves real time communication, HTML5, and mobile application development.